In business, strategic project management refers to the process of overseeing a project with multiple steps, or phases, within the context of a company's overall objectives. Project managers who employ successful strategies save their businesses time and money while gaining a competitive advantage over other businesses with less refined or successful strategies for tackling similar types of projects.

Typical Project Phases

Every business project requires its own series of phases, from conception to completion. However, in general, projects proceed according to the same basic series of steps. The first phase involves preparatory work and research. Next comes a planning phase, followed by a testing phase. Once the plan is ready, the implementation phase sees it put into effect. Completion may be a phase unto itself as the project winds down or goes through a public introduction or announcement. Finally, a follow-up phase assesses the completed project and addresses any remaining issues from the earlier phases.

Project Selection

The initial phases of a project involve selecting from among multiple project options, each of which has its own costs, risks and potential benefits. Strategic project selection involves weighing these factors and considering the likely outcomes of each project. Since a business has limited resources, including cash, access to credit, personnel and equipment, its leaders must choose the right projects at the right times. Deferring projects that will have a similar or enhanced impact in the future gives a business the strategic advantage of managing its time so as to pursue the highest-value projects.

Planning Phase

The planning and testing phase of a project is among the phases most directly tied to strategy. Planning a project involves strategic choices such as who to assign to the project team, where to allocate resources, what sort of time table to use for completing the project and whether to collaborate with other project teams. Since the purpose of a project plan is to give the project the greatest possible chance of success, it must make the most of the strategic options available to the project manager.

Following Up

Once a project is completed or implemented, the strategic process is not necessarily over. Since businesses take on projects in sequence, with new projects taking the place of recently completed ones, assessing a past project can be a tactic that serves to improve project management in the future. A business that focuses on following up with project teams can employ a strategy of carrying successes forward and eliminating redundancies or addressing problems. For example, a manufacturer may evaluate its project team that oversees the launch of a new project to identify workers who are more suited to marketing than product development, thus managing its workforce strategically based on the outcome of the project.